Gift Cards

Sell gift cards at checkout or online, issue codes for promotions, and let customers redeem them when they book or pay — a simple way to drive new visits and increase revenue.

Where to find it — Web: Sidebar → Gift Cards (under Catalogue). Mobile: More → Gift Cards. Customers: Your public storefront at yourvenue.openchairpro.com/gift-cards.

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Overview

Gift cards let you:

• Issue gift cards manually from the dashboard with a unique code (format: GIFT-XXXXXXXX)
• Sell gift cards as line items during checkout (booking or walk-in sale)
• Let customers purchase gift cards online through your public storefront
• Email branded gift cards directly to recipients (PRO)
• Redeem gift cards at checkout — the balance is deducted from the order total
• Check a gift card's remaining balance from the dashboard or public balance checker
• Bulk generate batches of gift card codes for promotions or retail (PRO)
• Void gift cards that are lost, stolen, or no longer needed
• Track gift card performance with analytics on the Intelligence dashboard (PRO)

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Issuing a gift card

Issuing creates a new gift card code that a customer can redeem at your venue.

On web

1. Go to Gift Cards in the sidebar.
2. Click "+ Issue Gift Card".
3. In the Issue Gift Card sheet, choose an amount:
   • Select a preset: $25, $50, $100, $150, or $200
   • Or enter a Custom amount (minimum $1.00)
4. Choose the delivery method:
   • Manual — you print or hand-deliver the code to the customer
   • Digital (PRO) — toggle "Email this gift card to the recipient" to send a branded email. Enter the Recipient Email (required), and optionally a Recipient Name and Personal Message (max 200 characters)
5. Optionally expand Additional details to enter a Purchaser Name, Purchaser Email, and Notes (internal, max 500 characters).
6. Click Issue Gift Card.

After issuing, the sheet shows the gift card code in large monospace text. You can:

• Click Copy Code to copy it to your clipboard
• Click Print to print the code
• Click Mark as Delivered (manual delivery) to record that you gave it to the customer

On mobile

1. Go to More → Gift Cards.
2. Tap "+ Issue Gift Card" (or use the keyboard shortcut Cmd+N on iPad).
3. Choose a preset amount or enter a custom amount.
4. Select a delivery method: Manual or Digital.
5. Fill in purchaser and recipient details as needed.
6. Tap "Issue [amount] Gift Card".

The success screen shows the code with options to Copy or Share.

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Selling a gift card at checkout

Gift cards can be added to any checkout order — either from a booking or a walk-in sale.

1. During checkout, click "+ Add Item" (web) or tap Add Item (mobile).
2. Select Sell Gift Card from the quick-add menu.
3. Choose a preset amount ($25, $50, $100, $150, $200) or enter a Custom amount.
4. Optionally enter a Recipient name (placeholder: "e.g. Sarah").
5. Click "Add to Order — $XX.XX".

The gift card appears as a line item in the cart. When the order is completed and paid, the gift card is issued automatically with status Active. The code can then be provided to the customer.

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Customer online purchase (storefront)

Customers can buy gift cards directly from your public storefront — no account required.

How it works

1. The customer visits yourvenue.openchairpro.com/gift-cards.
2. They choose an amount from the presets ($25, $50, $100, $150, $200) or enter a custom amount ($1–$1,000).
3. They select a delivery method:
   • "Email to recipient" — the gift card is emailed directly to the recipient
   • "I'll deliver it myself" — the customer receives the code after purchase
4. For email delivery, they enter the Recipient email (required), Recipient name, and an optional Personal message (max 200 characters).
5. They enter their own name and email under "Your details".
6. They click "Continue to Payment — $XX.XX" and complete payment via the Stripe payment form.
7. After payment, the confirmation page shows the gift card code and a visual card with your venue's branding.

Gift cards purchased online are valid for a minimum of 3 years from purchase (in compliance with Australian and New Zealand consumer law).

If your Stripe account is not connected, the storefront shows: "Gift card purchases are not yet available online. Contact [venue name] directly to purchase in-store."

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Checking a gift card balance

For staff (dashboard)

1. Go to Gift Cards in the sidebar (web) or More → Gift Cards (mobile).
2. Click or tap a gift card in the list to open its detail view.
3. The detail shows the original value, remaining balance, status, and full redemption history.

For customers (public balance checker)

Customers can check their balance at yourvenue.openchairpro.com/gift-cards/balance:

1. Enter the Gift card code (placeholder: "e.g. GIFT-AB1C2D3E").
2. Click "Check Balance".
3. If valid, the remaining balance and expiry date are displayed.
4. If the code is not found or has expired, the message reads: "Gift card not found or has expired. Please check the code and try again."

The public balance checker is rate-limited to prevent code enumeration (20 lookups per 5 minutes per venue).

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Redeeming a gift card at checkout

Any team member can apply a gift card during checkout.

1. During checkout, click "+ Add Gift Card" in the modifiers section.
2. Enter the gift card code (placeholder: "GIFT-XXXXXXXX").
3. Click "Check" to verify the card.
4. A preview shows the Card balance, Applied to order, and Remaining balance.
5. Click "Apply" to redeem.

The redeemed amount appears in the order summary as a green deduction line. Only one gift card can be applied per order. If you apply a different card, the previous one is automatically reversed and its balance restored.

To remove a gift card, click the trash icon next to it in the order summary.

If the gift card covers the full order balance, the payment button changes to "Complete (Gift Card)" — no additional payment method is needed.

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Gift card statuses

Status	Meaning
Active	Gift card has remaining balance and can be redeemed
Redeemed	Balance has been fully used — no remaining value
Voided	Gift card was manually voided by an Owner or Manager — cannot be redeemed
Expired	Gift card passed its expiry date — cannot be redeemed

Cards automatically transition from Active to Expired when their expiry date passes (checked daily). Cards transition from Active to Redeemed when the balance reaches zero through redemptions.

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Viewing gift card details

Click or tap any gift card in the list to open the detail view.

The detail shows:

Field	Description
Code	The unique gift card code (monospace, e.g. GIFT-AB1C2D3E)
Value	Original amount and remaining balance
Status	Active, Redeemed, Voided, or Expired
Purchaser	Name and email of the buyer (if recorded)
Recipient	Name and email of the recipient (if recorded)
Message	Personal message from the purchaser (if provided)
Expires	Expiry date (if set)
Delivery	Manual (with delivered/not delivered indicator) or Digital (with sent/pending indicator)
Issued	Date and staff member who issued the card

Redemption history

Below the card details, the Redemption History section shows every time the card was used:

• Date — when the redemption occurred
• Amount — how much was deducted
• Reference — the order or booking reference (e.g. "Order #abc123")
• By — the staff member who applied the card

Actions

From the detail view, you can:

• Copy Code — copy the code to clipboard
• Print — print the gift card (web only)
• Send by Email / Resend — send or resend the branded gift card email to the recipient (PRO)
• Void Gift Card — permanently void the card (see Voiding below)

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Voiding a gift card

Only Owners and Managers can void gift cards. Voiding is permanent and cannot be undone.

1. Open the gift card detail view.
2. Click "Void Gift Card".
3. A confirmation dialog warns:
   • If balance remains: "This gift card has [balance] remaining. Voiding is permanent — the balance will be removed and the card cannot be redeemed. This cannot be undone."
   • If balance is zero: "This gift card will be permanently voided and cannot be redeemed. This cannot be undone."
4. Click "Void Gift Card" to confirm.

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Bulk generating gift cards (PRO)

Generate batches of gift card codes for promotions, retail display, or resale.

1. Go to Gift Cards on web.
2. Click "Bulk Generate" in the toolbar.
3. In the Bulk Generate Gift Cards dialog:
   • Enter the Quantity (10–500 cards per batch)
   • Choose a Denomination from presets or enter a custom amount
   • Optionally set an Expiry Date
   • Optionally add Notes (max 200 characters, e.g. "Christmas 2026 batch")
4. An amber liability warning shows the total value being created (e.g. "This will create 50 gift cards worth $5,000.00 in outstanding liability.")
5. Click "Generate [quantity] Cards".
6. A CSV file downloads automatically (gift-cards-{date}.csv) containing each code, amount, expiry, and notes.

All bulk-generated cards are created with manual delivery and are active immediately.

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Gift card analytics (PRO)

The gift cards dashboard shows four analytics cards at the top of the page (blurred on FREE plans):

Metric	What it shows
Sold	Lifetime value of all gift cards issued, with count
Redeemed	Lifetime value redeemed across all cards
Outstanding	Total unredeemed balance across all active cards
Redemption Rate	Lifetime percentage of issued value that has been redeemed

The Intelligence dashboard also includes gift card performance metrics showing trends over the last 30 days, redemption rate, and a breakdown of POS vs storefront sales.

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Delivery methods

Method	How it works	When to use
Manual	You receive the code and give it to the customer (print, hand-write, or copy/paste)	In-store sales, physical gift card displays
Digital (PRO)	A branded email is sent to the recipient's inbox with the code, amount, and a personal message	Remote purchases, last-minute gifts, online sales

Delivery status is tracked on each card:

Indicator	Meaning
Grey dot + "Manual"	Manual delivery, not yet marked as delivered
Green dot + "Delivered"	Manual delivery, marked as delivered by staff
Yellow dot + "Pending"	Digital delivery queued but not yet sent
Green dot + "Emailed"	Digital delivery sent successfully

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Role access

Action	Owner	Manager	Stylist
View gift cards list	Yes	Yes	No
Issue a gift card	Yes	Yes	No
View gift card details	Yes	Yes	No
Void a gift card	Yes	Yes	No
Bulk generate (PRO)	Yes	Yes	No
Send/resend email (PRO)	Yes	Yes	No
View analytics (PRO)	Yes	Yes	No
Mark as delivered	Yes	Yes	Yes
Redeem at checkout	Yes	Yes	Yes
Sell at checkout (add to cart)	Yes	Yes	Yes

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Platform differences

Feature	Web	Mobile
Navigation	Sidebar → Gift Cards (under Catalogue)	More → Gift Cards
Issue flow	Side sheet (drawer)	Full-screen page
Detail view	Side sheet	Master-detail pane (iPad) or full-screen (phone)
Bulk generate	Dialog with CSV export	Not available — web only
Print	Browser print dialog	Not available
Share	Not available	Share sheet (native OS)
Search	Search by code, recipient, or purchaser (Cmd+K)	Text input with search icon
Analytics	4 stat cards above list (PRO)	Stats bar above list (PRO)
Digital delivery toggle	Toggle switch with conditional fields	Radio buttons (Manual / Digital)
PRO gating display	Blur overlay on analytics, tooltip on Bulk Generate	Conditional field display

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Troubleshooting

Issue	Solution
Gift card code not accepted at checkout	Verify the code format is correct (GIFT-XXXXXXXX). The card must be Active with a remaining balance greater than zero. Check that the card belongs to your venue and has not expired.
Customer says "Gift card not found" on balance checker	The code may be mistyped — gift card codes use uppercase letters and numbers only (no O, 0, I, or 1 to avoid confusion). Ask the customer to double-check the code. If the card was voided, it will not appear in the public balance checker.
Cannot issue a gift card	Only Owners and Managers can issue gift cards. If you are a Stylist, ask a Manager or Owner to issue the card for you.
"Email this gift card" option not available	Digital email delivery requires a PRO subscription. On a FREE plan, you can issue cards with manual delivery and provide the code to the customer yourself.
Bulk Generate button is greyed out	Bulk generation requires a PRO subscription. The button shows a tooltip: "Generate gift card batches in bulk — available on PRO".
Gift card purchased online but customer did not receive email	Check the gift card detail view — the delivery indicator shows whether the email was sent. If it shows "Pending", the email may have been delayed. Use "Resend" from the detail view (PRO) to send it again. Ask the customer to check their spam folder.
Gift card balance seems wrong after checkout	Only one gift card can be applied per order. If a different card was applied, the previous card's balance was automatically restored. Check the redemption history on the card's detail view for the full audit trail.
Online gift card purchase page shows "Coming soon"	Online storefront purchases require Stripe Connect to be configured. Go to Payouts and connect your bank account to enable online gift card sales.
Gift card shows "Expired"	Gift cards expire on their set expiry date. Expired cards cannot be redeemed. Storefront purchases have a minimum 3-year validity period. Manually issued cards may have shorter expiry dates if set by the issuer.

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Related Articles

• Checkout
• Setting Up Stripe & Card Payments
• Managing Your Services

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Last updated: March 2026